"The department, for the record, does support Indian water rights settlements," Alan Mikkelsen, the second-highest ranking leader at the Bureau of Reclamation, told the committee during a very brief opening statement.

But Mikkelsen, in his written testimony, said the new administration "cannot support" S.1770, the Hualapai Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act. He questioned the "scope and size" of a project that would bring water to the Hualapai Reservation, parts of which lie in difficult to reach areas of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

He also raised significant doubts about the $173.6 million price tag of the settlement. Of that amount, $134.5 million would go toward the pipeline but Mikkelsen believes the costs would likely run higher, something that in fact has happened with another tribal water project in the state.

As for S.664, the Navajo Utah Water Rights Settlement Act, Mikkelsen offered the department's general support for settling the Navajo Nation's water rights in Utah. But he cautioned that the new administration doesn't know whether it will agree to the $198.3 million cost of that deal either.

"We must be mindful of what funding the federal government can provide in assisting communities to to resolve these long-standing disputes," Mikkelsen said.

He added: "Just as a general manner, the higher state and local contribution, the better."

The other sponsor of the bill is Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), a former two-term chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. Though he remains well-liked among tribal leaders in the state, his popularity has fallen among others amid frequent clashes with the president.